Even though the recent word that the next version of Microsoft Office, dubbed Office 14, was delayed until next year, we have good news for those of you who are still using Windows XP.

Microsoft's Chris Capossela has informed the Silicon Valley Insider that Office 14 will run on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. In a statement Capossela noted:

"Our install base of Office 2003 and 2007 is actually quite quite high in enterprises even if XP is what most enterprises are still using on their PCs. We're looking at XP [for Office 14] with some service pack[s]. We don't think it makes sense to require only Windows 7 with a new version of Office."

While no one actually reported that Office 14 was going to be a featured release for Windows 7, this can give corporate and normal consumers ease of mind when the beta begins in the next few months. While you're waiting for the beta to begin, check out our article with Office 14 Alpha screenshots.